College Curriculum at the Crossroads: Women of Color Reflect and Resist (Critical Social Thought)

College Curriculum at the Crossroads explores the ways in which college curriculum is complicated, informed, understood, resisted, and enriched by women of color. This text challenges the canon of curriculum development which foregrounds the experiences of white people, men and other dominant subject positions. By drawing on Black, Latina, Queer, and Transnational feminism, the text disrupts hegemonic curricular practices in post-secondary education. This collection is relevant to current conversation within higher education, which looks to curriculum to aid in the development of a more tolerant and just citizenry. Women of color have long theorized the failures of injustice and the promise of inclusion; as such, this text rightly positions women of color as true experts in the field. Across a variety of approaches, from reflections on personal experience to application of critical scholarship, the authors in this collection explore the potency of women of color's presence with/in college curriculum and emphasize a dire need for women of color's voices at the center of the academic process -- Introduction : Why Curriculum? / Kirsten T. Edwards and Maria del Guadalupe Davidson -- Pedagogical Poetics and Curricular Design in the Interracial Classroom : A Black Female Perspective / Catherine John Camara -- Somo Gente Estudiada : Creating Change Within and Outside the Walls of Academia / Norma A. Marrun -- Black Feminist/Womanist Epistemologies, Pedagogies, and Methodologies : A Review of Literature / Altheria Caldera -- Academic Sapphires : College Curriculum at the Intersection of Race, Gender, and Black Women's Subversion / Kirsten T. Edwards -- For Women of Color who have Considered Critical Social Theories : When the Dominant Narrative is no Longer Enough / OiYan Poon, Ester Sihite, Natasha Turman, Briellen Griffin, and Devita Bishundat -- Black Women, Curriculum Design, and the Subject of Disidentification / Maria del Guadalupe Davidson -- Transgressing Curriculum Boundaries / Nichole Guillory -- Curriculum as Community-Building, Liberation, Resistance, and Empowerment : Reflections from Fifteen Years of Teaching / Bridget Turner Kelly -- De donde tu eres : Pedagogies of a Puerto Rican Academic / Mirelsie Velazquez -- In the Space Between Argo and Shahs of Sunset is Where I Teach / Roksana Alavi -- Teaching to Transgress : Africana Studies as a Support for Black Student Activism / Danielle Wallace. edited by Kirsten T. Edwards and Maria del Guadalupe Davidson. Includes bibliographical references and index. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Page Table of Contents Series Editor’s Introduction References Acknowledgments Introduction: Why Curriculum? Purpose: What We’re Up To References Chapter 1 Pedagogical Poetics and Curricular Design in the Interracial Classroom: A Black Female Perspective Emerging Pedagogical Strategies in the Early Years The Theory and the Practice: A Curriculum Case Study The Evolution of Pedagogy and the Take Away Final Thoughts Notes References Chapter 2 Somos Gente Estudiada: Creating Change Within and Outside the Walls of Academia Defining Gente Estudiada Creating a Classroom Space of Convivencia (communalism) Centering the Knowledge of Scholars of Color and Marginalized Communities Validation: Affirming Student Capabilities to Succeed Passion: Detaching the Body from Teaching Faculty Orientation: Am I the Only Latina? Notes References Chapter 3 Black Feminist/Womanist Epistemologies, Pedagogies, and Methodologies: A Review of Literature Black Feminist/Womanist Epistemologies Black Feminist/Womanist Pedagogies Research Methodologies Conclusion Note References Chapter 4 Academic Sapphires: College Curriculum at the Intersection of Race, Gender, and Black Women’s Subversion Conversations Sapphire-Colored Glasses The Ties that Bind: Analysis and Findings So What Have I (We) Learned? Final (or On-Going) Thoughts Note References Chapter 5 For Women of Color who have Considered Critical Social Theories: When the Dominant Narrative Is No Longer Enough Critical Pedagogy Narratives This Is What a Professor Looks Like (OiYan, Teacher–Student) Resisting Dominant Discourses (Brie, Student–Teacher) Claiming My Counter-narrative (Devita, Student–Teacher) Interrogating the “Kool-Aide” (Natasha, Student–Teacher) Liberation, Hope, and Power (Ester, Student–Teacher) Discussion and Conclusion Notes References Chapter 6 Black Women, Curriculum Design, and the Subject of Disidentification Introduction Fully and Freely All That I Am BDSM and the Complexities of Race Eggplant: BDSM, Agency, Black Pleasure, Black Pain Agency and the Black Female Subject Dis-i-dent-If-i-cation Designing a Deviant Curriculum Notes Chapter 7 Transgressing Curriculum Boundaries Blurring Boundaries Conclusions and Questions References Chapter 8 Curriculum as Community-Building, Liberation, Resistance, and Empowerment: Reflections from Fifteen Years of Teaching Curriculum Design and My Racial Identity Development Curriculum Design as Community-Building Curriculum Design as Empowerment Conclusion References Chapter 9 De Donde Tu Eres: Pedagogies of a Puerto Rican Academic Literature “What do you do?”: Defending Our Positions as Professional When People Seek to Discredit Us What Are You Doing Here: When Our Work and Words Put Us In Danger Why and How To Remain Here: What Our Positions Mean for Others Conclusion Notes References Chapter 10 In the Space Between Argo and Shahs of Sunset Is Where I Teach Social Position of Women of Color in Academia The Narrow Boundaries My Teaching Experience Racial Identity, Passing, and Stereotype Threat My Experience as a Woman of Color Faculty Member Experiences of Iranian–American Students Concluding Remarks Notes References Chapter 11 Teaching to Transgress: Africana Studies Curriculum asa Support for Black Student Activism Pedagogical Approach—Education for Liberation The Courses The Evolution of Race, Racism, and Privilege The Roots of Racial Violence Racial Violence in the Modern Day Autobiography and Activism: Highlighting the Lived Experience The Black Activist Tradition Conclusion Notes References List of Contributors Index